Jiang Wei, the Bodyguard?
by me you and kaoru
Summary: Chapter 2 up. Woo. RR please!
1. Jiang Wei, the Bodyguard?

Jiang Wei, The Bodyguard?  
Chapter One  
By Yuki-chan  
  
Author's Notes: Uhh...heartbreak? Yeah, that's pretty much it. *sigh*  
  
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine...but it would be awfully nice if they were. ^_^  
  
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It was a long day of training for Mr. Boyue, and by the time he got back to his tent, yet another messenger rushed to him.  
  
"General Jiang Wei, Lord Liu Bei requests your presence." The messenger seemed as awfully exhausted as Boyue, and he felt sympathy for the little messenger, clad in musty day clothes.  
  
The little messenger man scurried off somewhere before Jiang could acknowledge him. Jiang Wei sighed, then made his way to Liu Bei's tent. As he passed by, he noticed Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Ma Chao, and some other officers sleeping peacefully. He groaned.  
  
Liu Bei noticed Boyue. "Ah, General Jiang Wei. Sit down, please. I have something important to discuss with you."  
  
Jiang sniffed something in the air... a pungent scent smelling of sickly sweet flowers. He twitched a bit, then noticed a young woman sitting next to Liu Bei.  
  
"Who's she?" he asked.  
  
"Ah...this is my niece, Ming."  
  
"A rather common name for women, don't you think?" pointed out Jiang.  
  
"Well," replied Liu Bei, "I didn't name her."  
  
Ming just stared at Jiang Wei, emotionless. Jiang stared back, looking somewhat annoyed.  
  
"I'm assigning you to be her bodyguard. Can I rely on you?"  
  
"Yes sir, you can..."  
  
"Good. Your task starts tomorrow."  
  
As Jiang headed back, he swore he felt someone glaring at him from behind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Jiang woke up sweating profusely, from a nightmare. "Heh heh...funny. I've haven't had a nightmare in years..."  
  
Boyue did his best to steady and rationalize the situation, calming down, but the loud ring of the gong startled him.  
  
Liu Bei ran up to Jiang. "General Jiang Wei! Ming has gone off to the market! Go...go follow her and protect her! Our spies have reported street thugs kidnapping women! HURRY!"  
  
Jiang nodded quickly, mounted his horse, and rode towards town.  
  
In the town, Jiang could hear cries for help...women's cries! He rode faster and saw a large clump of women, surrounded by a herd of thugs.  
  
"Ahh!" thought Boyue. "Ming's in that crowd! But how will I find her if she looks just like any other woman?!"  
  
Jiang froze suddenly as he felt the same cold glare that he'd felt last night...right before he left the tent containing Liu Bei and--  
  
Ming!  
  
Jiang charged straight to the thugs, worrying about how things would turn out if Ming were to die... Liu Bei would be furious, he'd probably be executed...  
  
But within the crowd, he sniffed the same pungent flowery fragrance that Ming possessed...Ming was in the crowd of women surrounded by street thugs.  
  
However, it was evident that the thugs wouldn't let him pass so easily. They (about 30 of them) whipped out their daggers and watched his every move.  
  
A pair of icy, cold looking eyes caught his attention. It was Ming...and she was being taken away by a thug.  
  
Jiang then received a vision of him, being tortured...first, they'd cut him slash by slash, boil him in hot water, mutilate him while he was still alive...  
  
A dark shadow loomed over him. A man stared right at him, wielding a spear. He laughed to himself, then said: "If you can beat me in a duel, along with my men, I will let all these women go free. If you lose, you die...and these women will be sold into prostitution."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Review...review....review! 


	2. Slipping into Dephs of Darkness

Jiang Wei, the Bodyguard?  
Chapter 2  
By Yukira Tsurama  
  
Disclaimer: The characters aren't...mine? No, they aren't.  
  
Author's Notes: Am I antisocial? Oops...wrong application. Oh well. I'll leave it here for FUN! Thank you for the reviews! I didn't expect to get even half of the number I got for this fanfic!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The street thug leader was glaring down at Jiang Wei, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was feeling slightly defeated already...not to mention scared. The troops that he had fought in his first and previous battles were dignified, respective men, but these were thugs, bandits. Who knew what they would try?  
  
Boyue tried to remember some advice that one of the other warriors had given him, right before his first battle...what's his face...Zhao Yun. Yes, although Zhao Yun had seemed rather strict the first time he saw him, but out of the sight of Zhuge Liang and the other strict generals, he'd loosened up and shown him around, giving him little tidbits of advice here and there.  
  
Zhao Yun, stylename Zilong, had told him one tip...the only one that Boyue could remember exactly, in Zhao's own words. This tip rang clearly in his ears, as if Zilong was behind him right now, to guide him through his first single fight. "Remember Jiang, don't get intimidated! Intimidate HIM! Stare right at him, show no mercy!"  
  
Boyue chuckled sheepishly to himself, and the bandit leader gazed at him strangely. Jiang stiffened and scowled straight into the bandit's eyes.  
  
"Stop looking! Will you fight me or not?" inquired the leader hastily.  
  
"Yes! I will! No matter what happens, I'll see to it that these poor, defenseless women go free!"  
  
Strangely, Jiang felt a multitude of indignant glares, as well as a more intense one from Liu Bei's antisocial niece.  
  
Without warning, several of the thugs kicked him from behind. Jiang felt blood rising, and he was sickened. Even worse, Lady Ming's pungent perfume seemed to get stronger smelling.  
  
"Nuuh..." Jiang moaned as he tried to rise to his feet. Behind him, the bandit leader was cackling mercilessly.  
  
"You idiot!" he spat. "How will you fend against me and 76 other of my men!? It's useless! You shall die and these women will be sentenced to a terrible fate!"  
  
Jiang growled and suddenly sprang up, knocking the bandit leader from his horse. Seeing the leader of his enemies recoil in slight pain, Boyue howled a victory cry. He then proceeded to take out some 15 men with his spear. Now, he resembled an animal in panic, struggling to reach success. Nothing could stop him now, not unless--  
  
More men appeared and the remaining shop keepers and merchants ran off, no longer interested in the fight. Jiang smiled grimly at this, but he kept at his "killing" spree.  
  
As the one-man-dominant slaughter proceeded, Jiang became more unstoppable. He slashed through the enemies quite easily, nostalgically remembering playtime as a young child. There were straw dummies that stood up, and the point of the game was to rip them to pieces with a wooden sword. At first, Jiang couldn't even knock the dummies down, but as time progressed, he learned to attack swiftly and forcefully. Eventually, he could take down a couple at a time.  
  
Jiang never ceased to amaze those around him at this point. About 25 of those 76 people were currently down for the count, but not dead, thanks to Jiang wielding his practice spear. In fact, Jiang was beginning to get comfortable with the idea of using a practice weapon, that is-- until his spear was suddenly chopped in two.  
  
The first thing that Boyue saw was a blinding light reflected off a sharp metal surface. He did not seem aware of pain of any sort when the gleaming metal struck down again, at him this time. All he could see was the familiar features...the hilt, the blade, the sharp and dull side...slowly, it seemed all known to him now. The thing above him was a sword, held in the bandit leader's hands.  
  
Jiang tried to take both halves of his wooden spear and counter the leader's attacks, but for some reason, he could not move. Slowly, gradually, the pain struck him, and he collapsed to the ground.  
  
A crimson red fluid drenched Jiang's battle tunics and pants, and he tried to cover up the source of it, but it was a futile attempt. The blood only gushed out slowly. Then it hit him: He wasn't to die an honorable warrior's death, as Zilong had told him about. He'd die in a crowded marketplace.  
  
The pain overwhelmed Jiang and he gazed up at the bandit leader's face. How Jiang wanted for the leader to kill him right now, to end his suffering. But it was hopeless. The leader would only stand over Jiang and watch him suffer until the very end.  
  
Suddenly, he could hear the rapid galloping of a horse, and he struggled to see who--or what-- it was.  
  
Jiang tried to focus on the man riding on the horse, but it was difficult. His body was weak from the blood loss, and maybe he was hallucinating...  
  
The man riding on the horse seemed to leap off it, wielding an elaborate spear. Jiang smiled somewhat, thinking, "Wow. I used to have a spear like that...wish I had one." Jiang caught a quick glance of the man's face...  
  
The man's face seemed somewhat familiar, but Jiang couldn't remember who he was. Jiang only stared from his spot on the ground as the man slashed through the bandits. How focused and agile the man was; he was able to take down many with a single slash. The man seemed to have great strength, and showed no signs of fear as he took down the rest of the thugs effortlessly. "I wish...I wish I could fight like him", thought Jiang. "He seems so familiar...I wonder if I know him."  
  
Jiang was slowly losing consciousness, but he was still able to point out the man's features...black hair that went below the shoulders, friendly but intimidating chocolate brown eyes, a green headband gracing his face...  
  
And then Boyue thought he knew now. He thought he knew who the man was, perhaps...it was Zhao Zilong?  
  
Jiang cursed himself as his body slipped into the dephs of darkness, his eyes closing as he watched the man take down the bandit leader. Whatever would happen next, Jiang did not know.  
  
~*~  
  
Meanwhile, a dutiful Zhao Zilong set the crowd of women free, found Lady Ming, and carried a badly wounded Jiang Wei back to the Shu camp.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
STILL SHORT! I'm not getting much inspiration. T-T  
  
Review review review~! 


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